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SpaceX continues local land purchases

Posted: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 1:00 pm
By EMMA PEREZ-TREVIÑO Valley Morning Star
SpaceX already may have landed on “Mars.” Amid anticipation that Cameron County could be selected as the location for the world’s first private vertical launch site, SpaceX has developed a subdivision called “Mars Crossing.”
It also continued to expand its property holdings into this new year, a Valley Morning Star investigation shows.
Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies, through Dogleg Park LLC, this year purchased 28 new lots surrounding the proposed complex at Boca Chica Beach, bringing the total number of lots it now owns to 88. The total land area purchased encompasses roughly 36 acres of land. In addition, SpaceX has leased 56.5 acres.
Furthermore, SpaceX’s Director of Advanced Projects Steve Davis replatted 13 lots totaling 8.344 acres into one lot under the name “Mars Crossing Subdivision.”
Cameron County Commissioners’ Court gave its approval of the preliminary and final plat of the subdivision at the end of the past year, the Star also found. This is the area where the control and command center would be situated.
Dogleg — defined by NASA as a directional turn made in the launch trajectory to produce a more favorable orbit inclination — is listed as the owner of “Mars Crossing.”
SpaceX “consolidated these lots to make it easier to conform to development plans and to meet county subdivision regulations,” county Administrator Pete Sepulveda Jr. said.
“I think it looks very good for Cameron County,” Sepulveda said of the anticipation of an announcement, adding that everyone is waiting for the final Environmental Impact Statement from the Federal Aviation Administration for a clear signal.
SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment — but the name of the new subdivision in Cameron County comes as no surprise.
Under the heading “Road to the Red Planet,” the firm points out in its website that, “SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.”
Musk’s proposal calls for a commercial orbital complex at the Boca Chica site for the launch of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy orbital rockets and other smaller reusable suborbital vehicles. All Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches would carry commercial payloads, including satellites or experimental payloads, for delivery to the International Space Station. Besides standard payloads, the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy could also carry a capsule, such as the SpaceX Dragon capsule.
As SpaceX notes, Dragon is a free-flying spacecraft designed to deliver both cargo and people to orbiting destinations. Dragon made history in 2012 when it became the first commercial spacecraft in history to deliver cargo to the International Space Station and safely return cargo to Earth, a feat previously achieved only by governments.
“It is the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth. Currently Dragon carries cargo to space, but it was designed from the beginning to carry humans. Under an agreement with NASA, SpaceX is now developing the refinements that will enable Dragon to fly crew. Dragon’s first manned test flight is expected to take place in 2-3 years,” the space exploration firm added.
SpaceX’s Davis was one of numerous collaborators with NASA that found that SpaceX’s Dragon capsule and Falcon Heavy rocket present the possibility of delivering large scientific payloads to Mars, through a modified capsule called “Red Dragon” in advance of carrying humans.
The inspiration behind naming the subdivision "Mars Crossing" was not immediately known. However, the name coincides with the title of a book by NASA scientist, and science fiction writer, Geoffrey A. Landis, who according to his website, is a member of the science team of the Mars Exploration Rovers mission that landed two rovers "Spirit" and "Opportunity" on Mars.

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TerraN_EmpirE said:

Calling All Texans New Launch site is coming!

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TerraN_EmpirE said:

Calling All Texans New Launch site is coming!

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Lawmakers Skeptical Of 2021 Human Mars Flyby Idea
By Frank Morring, Jr. [email protected]
Source: AWIN First

February 27, 2014

A hurry-up launch in 2021 for a human flyby of Mars proposed by pioneer space tourist Dennis Tito would make a good “bridge” between the International Space Station and more sustainable missions closer to Earth, according to experts testifying before a skeptical House Science Committee Feb. 27.

The mission would require an advanced version of NASA’s heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) and other new hardware to take advantage of a unique opportunity to reach Mars with a gravity assist from Venus. Committee witnesses were unwilling to put a price tag on that work, and conservative members of the panel said they were uneasy with open-ended spending for a high-risk project on a tight deadline.

“Do you really see right now that there’s a commitment in this country so that we don’t start down this trail, spending a lot of money, and then at the end of the trail not have accomplished the mission because the window wasn’t there?” Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), asked Sandra Magnus, executive director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Magnus, an astronaut and former ISS crew member, had testified that the U.S. would be capable of conducting the mission, provided Congress makes adequate funds available. Tito, who was the first “spaceflight participant” to purchase a ride to the space station on a Russian Soyuz crew vehicle, has testified that he could tap “private philanthropy” for $300 million toward the 2021 mission, and believes NASA could develop the necessary hardware for $100 million a year over the next seven years.

“I continue to believe, as do many Americans, that Mars is the logical destination to put human space exploration back on track and demonstrate the ‘can do’ spirit that seems to have faded over time,” Tito said in a statement after the hearing. “The window of opportunity in 2021 is challenging but achievable and waiting to be claimed.”

Doug Cooke, a former NASA associate administrator for exploration systems who has advised Tito’s Inspiration Mars Foundation on the Mars flyby, testified that the 70-ton variant of the SLS is on track for its critical design review this year, and an instrumented prototype of NASA’s Orion multipurpose crew vehicle is set for a Delta IV flight test in September. That test is designed to validate the design of the heat shield that would be needed to protect an Orion returning from the vicinity of the Moon, but Cooke testified that a more robust shield would be needed for the planetary-return velocities associated with reentry after a Mars flyby.

Also required by 2021 would be the advanced, “dual-use” upper stage on NASA’s books to take the SLS to its intermediate, 105-ton capability to low Earth orbit. Ultimately, the agency plans to add advanced strap-on boosters to give the big rocket the 130-ton-to-LEO capability Congress mandated.

After detailed study, Tito and his engineers rejected an early concept of a 501-day direct flight around Mars with a two-person crew during a particularly opportune launch window in 2018, and opted instead for the 580-day flight in 2021 that would fly by Venus and Earth before heading to Mars. Once there, Cooke said, the Orion crew would have 40 hours to observe the Red Planet from a distance that would make it appear at least as large as the Moon from Earth.

The mission also would require a habitat with advanced life support systems where the crew would reside during the long transits between planets, Cooke said. Tito funded a year-long study by Paragon Space Development Corp. that produced a benchtop life support system. The system appeared to meet the 2021 requirements, but testing on the ISS probably would be required. The habitat itself could be an Orbital Sciences Corp. Cygnus commercial cargo module, or perhaps an inflatable habitat provided by Bigelow Aerospace, according to Taber MacCallum, the Paragon CEO and chief technology officer.

Scott Pace, director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University and a White House and NASA official under President George W. Bush, testified that he personally would favor a return to the Moon as the next human step beyond low Earth orbit. But the 2021 flyby would be a useful project to focus development on the systems that would be needed for work in cislunar space, asteroids and perhaps the Martian moons that would not require development of an expensive lander.

“The Mars flyby mission serves as an interesting potential bridge between where we are with the ISS, where we would like to be with Mars, and where our international partners and commercial opportunities are with human spaceflight beyond low Earth orbit,” Pace said.

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TerraN_EmpirE said:

I have been highly critical of the SLS and still am, This mission concept requires SLS and is in my view there for betting on a lame horse.

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After detailed study, Tito and his engineers opted instead for the 580-day flight in 2021 that would fly by Venus and Earth before heading to Mars. Once there, Cooke said, the Orion crew would have 40 hours to observe the Red Planet from a distance that would make it appear at least as large as the Moon from Earth.

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Falcon 9 v1.1 conducts Static Fire ahead of CRS-3 mission
March 8, 2014 by Chris Bergin no alt
SpaceX have fired up their Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle during a Static Fire (Hot Fire) test on Saturday, allowing for a health check and countdown dress rehearsal ahead of their next flight of their Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). The CRS-3/SpX-3 Dragon is tracking a launch – her first on the upgraded Falcon 9 – on March 16 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS).

CRS-3:

The latest Falcon 9 launch will be the fourth in her upgraded configuration, following three successful satellite launches – one from Vandenberg and two from SLC-40 at the Cape.

Z4However, unlike her predecessors, this Falcon 9 is sporting four landing legs on her aft, allowing for the latest test objective towards SpaceX’s ultimate goal of a fully reusable rocket system.

Although a number of tests have already been conducted – mainly involving a restart of the First Stage post-staging, allowing it to practise a controlled re-entry – this will be the first mission where a soft splashdown on deployed legs will be attempted, as recently explained by SpaceX to NASASpaceFlight.com.

Following staging, the First Stage will bid farewell to the Second Stage and Dragon, prior to rotating its aft and engines into the direction of travel. Once in the correct orientation, three of Falcon 9′s Merlin 1D engines will conduct a supersonic retro propulsion burn.

Z4Once the First Stage has shut down the three engines, a stable re-entry should then occur. As the Stage begins to drop back to Earth, the center engine will ignite to stabilize the Stage and reduce its velocity.

About 10 seconds into the landing burn, SpaceX will attempt the unique demonstration of deploying the four legs, as the Stage closes in on the water.

Recovery of the first stage from the water will be attempted, although SpaceX noted there is a low probability this will be successfully achieved during this test.

The primary goal of the launch relates lofting the Dragon spacecraft en route to the ISS for her fourth mission to the Station. The spacecraft will be riding uphill on the beefed up rocket for the first time.

Z77The SpX-3 flight will carry a full launch and return complement of 1,580kg/3,476lb of payload, an increase from the previous limit of 800kg, afforded by the increased upmass capabilities of the Falcon 9 v1.1.

For launch, Dragon will carry a record of one GLACIER and two MERLIN freezers for transporting ISS experiment samples.

The external payload in Dragon’s trunk includes the Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS) – which will demonstrate high-bandwidth space to ground laser communications, and the High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) package consisting of four commercial HD video cameras.

The CRS-3 mission will also involve the delivery of a replacement Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), allowing for the return of a faulty suit on the same vehicle when it returns to Earth. This spacesuit relay is enabled by a specially built rack inside the Dragon.

Static Fire:

Per the primary goals of a Hot Fire test, the effort relates to ensuring that the pad’s fueling systems – and the launch vehicle – function properly in a fully operational environment, with numerous requirements to be successfully proven via such a test, such as the engine ignition and shut down commands, which have to operate as designed, and that the Merlin 1D engines perform properly during start-up.

Tasks also include a full propellant loading sequence, launch countdown operations, engine ignition operations and testing of the pad’s high volume water deluge system.

See Also

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The first opportunity for the Static Fire was scheduled for Friday. However, unacceptable weather in the region delayed the rollout, pushing the test to Saturday. The window for the test was 1pm local through to 5pm local, although it is understood engineers were working issues on the vehicle for at least the first few hours of the window.

With the test providing a dress rehearsal for the actual launch, controllers would have begun the test with polling to allow for the loading of Falcon 9′s RP-1 propellant with liquid oxygen oxidizer two hours and thirty five minutes before T-0.

This would have likely been followed with fuel and Thrust Vector Control (TVC) bleeding on the second stage, performed at T-1 hour.

At T-13 minutes, a final flight readiness poll would have been conducted, which would then be followed by the final hold point at T-11 minutes.

Z55Per the countdown procedures, the tasks would have entered the terminal count ten minutes before ignition, followed by the launch vehicle being transferred to internal power at four minutes and forty six seconds before T-0.

The Flight Termination System (FTS), used to destroy the rocket in the event of a problem during an actual launch, would have been armed three minutes and eleven seconds before launch, and seven seconds later oxidizer topping ended.

Pressurization of the propellant tanks would have followed, and while a Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) – which are no longer required for the Falcon 9 – would have concluded the test at around T-5 seconds, the Static Fire test continued the count through to ignition.

Z7A short burst of the Merlin ID engines on the core stage of the F9 would have then followed, allowing for validation data to be gained on the health of the vehicle and pad systems.

SpaceX PAO confirmed to NASASpaceFlight.com that the Static Fire was classed as successful.

Detanking operations would then have followed, ahead of its lowering on to the Transporter Erector and rollback to the hanger to begin final processing ahead of launch, which normally results in the mating of the payload – in this case the Dragon spacecraft – to the top of the vehicle. However, for this mission, the Static Fire was conducted with the Dragon already integrated on the vehicle.

The Flight Readiness Reviews (FRRs) for the launch vehicle and the spacecraft were concluded last week. A Launch Readiness Review (LRR) – which will include the full results of the Static Fire – will follow in the coming days.

SpaceX remain on track for the March 16 launch of the Falcon 9 and Dragon duo, with the launch window set to open at 4:41am Local.

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Jeff Head said:

Here's how they describe the mission in brief:



Sorry...just far too much expenditure to prepare for a single window opportunity, and then only get a 40 hour observation swing around so far out that Mars looks the size of the moon.

We could do far more testing close to earth, and between here and the moon, to prepare for when we finally go to Mars with a manned mission that does more than just fly by at such a great distance.

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ISS and Exploration

The problem that we have today is that the SLS/Orion and ISS factions at NASA increasingly see themselves as competing with each other for funding. There is an old saying that if you have enough problems they can solve each other. Dr. Pace spoke about integrated approaches. It is beyond time to integrate the SLS/Orion centric exploration architecture with the ISS.

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Dragon contamination cleanup forces launch delay
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: March 13, 2014


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Launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying an unmanned cargo ship bound for the International Space Station has been delayed from Sunday to no earlier than March 30, because of what sources described as apparent contamination that could pose problems for research hardware carried by the Dragon cargo craft.


The Dragon spacecraft is being prepared for launch inside the SpaceX hangar at Cape Canaveral. Photo credit: SpaceX

SpaceX engineers were preparing the rocket for launch at 4:41 a.m. EDT (GMT-4) Sunday to boost the Dragon capsule, loaded with about 4,600 pounds of equipment and supplies, on an automated flight to the International Space Station.

But the launch was put on hold, sources said, when engineers noticed contamination of some sort on the Dragon's lower unpressurized trunk section.

Two of six electrically powered payloads aboard the Dragon are mounted in the trunk section -- a first for this mission -- and engineers were concerned the contamination might "outgas" in orbit and cause problems for the station-bound hardware.

One of the payloads, the Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science, or OPALS, "will test the use of laser optics to transfer information to Earth from space," according to the NASA-SpaceX press kit. The other trunk payload includes four high-definition Earth viewing, or HDEV, cameras that will be mounted on the station's hull. Both payloads will be removed from the trunk by the station's robot arm.

By delaying the flight to the end of the month, engineers will have time to correct the problem while making way for the planned March 25 launch of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying three crew members to the international outpost.

This will be the third operational commercial resupply mission carried out by SpaceX under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA that calls for at least 12 flight to deliver some 44,000 pounds of cargo to the space station.

In a brief statement, SpaceX acknowledged the launch delay for the CRS-3 mission, but did not provide any details as to what prompted it.

"To ensure the highest possible level of mission assurance and allow additional time to resolve remaining open items, SpaceX is now targeting March 30th for the CRS-3 launch, with April 2nd as a back-up," the company said in an email release. "These represent the earliest available launch opportunities given existing schedules, and are currently pending approval with the (Air Force Eastern) Range.

"Both Falcon 9 and Dragon are in good health; given the critical payloads on board and significant upgrades to Dragon, the additional time will ensure SpaceX does everything possible on the ground to prepare for a successful launch."

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Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services Announces Industry-Unique “Refund Or Reflight” Program
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 11, 2014 – Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services, Inc. (LMCLS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT], introduced the industry’s first – and only – 100 percent space launch vehicle “refund or reflight” program, to protect customers in the event of a total launch vehicle malfunction. The program also provides partial refunds for partial malfunctions, and applies to all future LMCLS non-U.S. government contracts.
“Our customers expect superior service and can’t afford anything less than 100 percent mission success,” said Robert R. Cleave, president and chairman of the board of LMCLS. “Our Atlas launch vehicle has an unparalleled track record of reliability and performance. With the addition of this program, we’re offering customers complete peace of mind.”
Acquiring space launch insurance can be costly and time consuming for customers. The refund or reflight program will be a standard component in all future LMCLS launch service contracts, meaning customers will not need to negotiate and acquire space insurance for the Atlas launch vehicle on their own. The program is subject to certain terms, conditions and exclusions.
“We know how much our customers value affordability and assured access to space,” added Cleave. “This program demonstrates Lockheed Martin’s confidence in the Atlas launch vehicle, while saving customers costs and hassle. It also streamlines the launch process, allowing customers to focus on the success of their payloads and their businesses.”
LMCLS is the exclusive provider of all non-U.S. government Atlas launch services. With dedicated launch sites, superior orbital insertion accuracy, and a production program that has achieved twice the number of consecutive successful launches as the nearest competitor, Atlas is unmatched for performance, reliability and schedule assurance in meeting global satellite customer needs.
LMCLS also offers Athena launch services for small satellites and multi-payload RideShare missions.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 115,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s net sales for 2013 were $45.4 billion.

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Mars Rover Opportunity Faces New Threat: Budget Ax
MAR 12, 2014 02:21 PM ET // BY IRENE KLOTZ


NASA’s baseline budget for the year beginning Oct. 1 pulls the plug on the 10-year-old Mars rover Opportunity, newly released details of the agency’s fiscal 2015 spending plan show.

The plan, which requires Congressional approval, also anticipates ending the orbiting Mars Odyssey mission on Sept. 30, 2016.

“There are pressures all over the place,” NASA’s planetary science division director Jim Green said during an advisory council committee teleconference call on Wednesday.



Opportunity, along with a now-defunct sister rover Spirit, landed on Mars in January 2004 to look for signs of past water. Its latest discovery not only showed the chemical fingerprints of water in rocks lining the 14-mile (22.5 kilometer) diameter Endeavour impact crater, but that the water was not acidic and not too salty, a suitable niche for life.

NASA’s follow-on Mars rover Curiosity, which includes an onboard laboratory to ferret out details of potentially habitable environments, fares better in NASA’s 2015 budget proposal. The agency’s five-year spending plan shows a budget of $59.4 million to support Curiosity operations next year, and a steady $58 million a year after that. Curiosity landed in August 2012.


NASA currently spends about $13 million a year to support Opportunity.

The 2015 budget proposal includes $92 million for work on a new, still-unnamed, Mars rover that is slated to launch in 2020. NASA also plans to contribute to Europe’s life-hunting ExoMars rover, scheduled to launch in 2018.

NASA could decide to restore funding for Opportunity if Congress approves an Obama Administration requested budget supplement for a so-called “Opportunity, Growth and Security Initiative.” NASA’s share of the $56 billion request is $886 million, with $35 million of that earmarked for planetary science mission extensions.

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Americanized Ariane 5 among Game-changing Scenarios Rocket Execs Foresee
By Peter B. de Selding | Mar. 13, 2014

Arianespace would be obliged to share its work with U.S. contractors if Ariane 5 were to be eligible to launch U.S. government payloads. Credit: Arianespace photo
WASHINGTON — Commercial launch service providers on March 11 raised the possibility of Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket becoming American, the international Sea Launch becoming Russian and the high-cost Japanese H-2A rocket becoming cost competitive.

All three scenarios would mean radical changes for the current systems and address problems that each of them has in maintaining or establishing a position in a market characterized by no more than 20-25 geostationary-orbiting commercial telecommunications satellites being competed for launch in a given year.

The most surprising of the declarations came from Arianespace Chief Executive Stephane Israel, whose Evry, France-based company sees an opening to the now out-of-reach U.S. government market in the U.S. Air Force deliberation over whether U.S. government space system managers should seek a diversity of launch options. Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s Falcon 9 rocket is bidding to launch military satellites and is on a path toward U.S. Air Force certification.

Israel, whose high-cost Ariane 5 industrial supply chain is already preparing for a Big Bang-type reorganization as it prepares for the next-generation Ariane 6 vehicle, would be obliged to share its work with U.S. contractors if Ariane 5 were to be eligible to launch U.S. government payloads.

“As far as the employment aspect, we are ready to see how we could Americanize our rocket in return for U.S. government business,” Israel said, adding that U.S. rockets occasionally launch European government satellites.

Members of the 20-nation European Space Agency are encouraged to use the heavy-lift Ariane 5, the medium-lift Europeanized Russian Soyuz and the light Vega rockets for all their government missions. With few exceptions, most do this.

The most recent example of an exception is the German government’s second-generation radar reconnaissance satellite system, SARah. The three SARah satellites are scheduled for launch on two SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets.

But the launch contract is not with the German government, but with OHB AG of Bremen, Germany, which is the SARah prime contractor and was given leeway in determining who would conduct the launches. The first-generation constellation, the five-satellite SAR-Lupe system, was launched aboard Russian vehicles.

The Italian government is weighing several options for the launch of its two second-generation Cosmo-Skymed radar reconnaissance satellites.

Israel did not detail how the Ariane 5, launched from Europe’s Guiana Space Center on the northeast coast of South America, might be sufficiently “Americanized” to pass muster with the U.S. government and qualify for government satellite business.

Sea Launch AG of Bern, Switzerland, is owned by an affiliate of RSC Energia of Korolev, Russia, which is Russian government-owned. Its home port is Long Beach, Calif.

But the Sea Launch Zenit-3 SL rocket is operated from a floating equatorial platform in the Pacific Ocean in international waters, disqualifying it as a Russian rocket. Russian government officials in recent months have raised the possibility of relocating Sea Launch to Russian territorial waters, a move that would give it access to Russian government missions.

Sea Launch Chief Executive Sergey Gugkaev said he would have no problem with a move to an ocean location off Russia’s Far East, but only if the move came with a guarantee that Sea Launch could bid for large Russian government satellites against Khrunichev Space Center’s Proton rocket.

Gugkaev said discussions about Sea Launch’s possible move to Russia are “part of the big reform in the Russian space industry. Our opinion is that if these changes would allow us to get more market share — more Russian satellites from Roscosmos — then it would be a good thing for us.” Roscosmos is Russia’s space agency.

Japan’s H-2A rocket is viewed by global insurance underwriters as a reliable vehicle, but it has not been a force in the commercial satellite launch market because of its high price.

Naohiko Abe, director of the business development department for space systems at H-2A prime contractor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI), said his company has set a target of a 50 percent cost reduction by 2020.

In the meantime, less dramatic improvements in the vehicle’s cost structure through the enhanced H-2A allowed MHI to win a contract to launch its first-ever commercial satellite, the Telstar 12 Vantage telecommunications satellite owned by Telesat of Canada.

The launch, scheduled for late 2015, will be the inaugural flight of the enhanced H-2A. Abe said MHI “offered a good price … a special price” to Telesat in return for being the inaugural customer. “Telesat accepted a small risk,” Abe said.

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Mysterious New Gully Spotted on Mars
BY ADAM MANN03.19.145:12 PM

PIA17958
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
A new gully has appeared on a sloped crater wall on Mars. The channel, which was absent from images in November 2010 but showed up in a May 2013 photo, does not appear to have been formed by water. Exactly what caused this Red Planet rivulet remains a mystery.

The winding gully seems to have poured out from an existing ribbon channel in a crater in Mars’ Terra Sirenum region. The leading hypothesis on how the gully formed is that debris flowed downslope from an alcove and eroded a new channel. Though it looks water-carved, the gully is much more likely to have been formed when carbon dioxide frost accumulated on the slope and grew heavy enough to avalanche down and drag material down with it.

Because the pair of images, taken by the orbiting HiRISE camera onboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, were taken more than a year apart, scientists don’t know in exactly which season the new gully formed. Similar activity has been seen to occur during the Martian winter at temperatures too cold for water, which is why researchers think carbon dioxide is a likelier cause. While the formation of these gullies on Mars is well documented, scientists have yet to work out exactly how they work.

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Orbital Sciences Examining 2-3 Russian Alternatives to Antares’ AJ-26 Engine
By Peter B. de Selding | Mar. 4, 2014

Orbital and its suppliers have enough AJ-26 engines to complete Orbital’s Commercial Resupply Services space station cargo-supply contract with NASA. Credit: Orbital Sciences photo
PARIS — Orbital Sciences is investigating “two or three alternatives,” all of them Russian, to the current AJ-26 engine that powers the company’s Antares rocket, Orbital Chief Financial Officer Garrett E. Pierce said March 3.

Orbital’s exploration includes filing suit against United Launch Alliance of Colorado in an attempt to break ULA’s exclusivity contract with the makers of Russia’s RD-180 engine, which powers the first stage of ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket.

In a presentation to a conference organized by Raymond James investment advisers, Pierce said Dulles, Va.-based Orbital and its suppliers have enough AJ-26 engines to complete Orbital’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) space station cargo-supply contract with NASA, which totals eight Antares missions, and several additional missions as well. NASA is preparing to solicit bids for a follow-on contract that would call for four to five flights a year between 2017 and 2024.

“Right now we are exploring the various avenues that could be available to the company to continue to use the AJ-26 or to use other rocket systems — Russian-sourced systems — we’re looking at right now,” Pierce said. “There are two or three alternatives. Right now the AJ-26 is the standard rocket [engine] that we use on the Antares for the [CRS] contract and a bit beyond that. Then we’ll have the option — this is a few years out — to change the system or continue with it.”

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Orbital Sciences announces May 6 target for launch of next commercial cargo resupply mission to the ISS
Press Release Source: Orbital Sciences CorporationPosted Wednesday, March 19, 2014
image
Orbital Sciences Corporation today announced that it is targeting a “no-earlier-than” date of May 6, 2014 for the launch of its next commercial cargo resupply (CRS) mission to the International Space Station. The mission will originate from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility located in Eastern Virginia. The targeted launch time for the Antares rocket carrying the Cygnus cargo logistics spacecraft is 3:44 p.m. (EDT), which is at the beginning of a 5-minute launch window that extends to 3:49 p.m. (EDT).

This mission, known as Orb-2, will represent the third time Orbital’s Cygnus spacecraft will have delivered cargo to the ISS, including the demonstration mission under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement that was completed in October 2013 and the first of eight CRS missions, Orb-1, completed in February 2014. At the completion of the Orb-2 mission, Orbital’s system will have delivered approximately 3,800 kilos (about 8,400 lbs.) of cargo to support the Expedition crews conducting research and living aboard the ISS. The Orb-2 mission will also represent the fourth launch of the medium-class Antares rocket in its first 13 months of operations, a significant achievement for a new rocket program.

More information about the upcoming mission will be made available by Orbital and NASA in the coming weeks, including details of the cargo and scientific experiments to be delivered to the Station by Cygnus.

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Mojave Spaceport: 24 Months of Inaccurate Financial Reports
Posted by Doug Messier on March 18, 2014, at 5:47 pm in News



Mojave Air and Space Port’s former Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Erika Westawski, provided officials with 24 months of inaccurate accounting reports before resigning abruptly last month on the eve of a delayed audit, spaceport CEO and General Manager Stu Witt said on Tuesday.

The investigation into the inaccurate financial reports and Westawski’s sudden departure is continuing, Witt told the spaceport’s four directors during its monthly meeting. The independent auditors of Lance, Soll and Lunghard have been retained to review accounts, and a more detailed report is expected for the April board meeting, he added.

Witt introduced Mike Brouse, a former public-sector CPA, as the interim CFO. Brouse has helped the staff to implement new back office procedures and daily checks so the airport district can keep a better watch on its finances, Witt added.

Brouse said he retired in 2012 from his position as assistant superintendent for business services of the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District in Bakersfield, Calif. He said he would be working with the airport at least until June.

Westawski suddenly resigned in mid-February on the evening before the start of an audit that had been delayed from October. Sources report that Westawski had cleared out her apartment in Tehachapi before her resignation.

In a statement last week, spaceport officials said that the initial investigation by Lance, Soll and Lunghard showed that the airport district “remains financially viable and solvent.” Officials did not elaborate, but they did say they are coordinating their investigation with local law enforcement officials.

“The Board of Directors Chairman, District Counsel, KCSO [Kern County Sheriff's Office], and Kern County District Attorney’s office are briefed daily as discovery surrounding the situation continues,” the statement read.

Board member Al Peterson thanked members of the airport staff that have been working to reconcile the financial accounts. He also apologized for the airport board’s “less than stellar performance” in overseeing the district’s finances.

Board President Dick Rutan said the board of directors is in the process of forming a permanent finance committee to strengthen oversight.

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Former Arianespace Chief Says SpaceX Has Advantage on Cost
By Peter B. de Selding | Mar. 18, 2014

Jean-Yves Le Gall, who was chief executive Arianespace and is now president of CNES, said launching a satellite on an Ariane 5 costs around $137 million and drops to about $100 million when including subsidies. Credit: SpaceNews photo
PARIS — Europe’s Arianespace launch consortium and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. of the United States dispute which of them charges less to deliver a kilogram of cargo to the international space station, but they agree that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is, in general, less costly to build and operate than Europe’s Ariane 5 on a per-satellite basis.

How big is the difference? Jean-Yves Le Gall, who until mid-2013 was chief executive of Evry, France-based Arianespace and is now president of the French space agency, CNES, addressed the point in Feb. 25 testimony to the French Senate.

According to Le Gall, launching a satellite on an Ariane 5 costs around 100 million euros ($137 million). After subtracting the amount of European Space Agency subsidies to Arianespace, the per-satellite cost drops to about $100 million, he said.

Hawthorne, Calif.-based SpaceX, he said, would charge $60 million to $70 million to launch the same satellite aboard the Falcon 9. In fact SpaceX has charged even less than that to its first few commercial customers.

Le Gall said the per-launch cost objective for Europe’s future Ariane 6 rocket was fixed at 70 million euros because of the SpaceX price point. While 70 million euros is $96 million at current exchange rates — still more than today’s SpaceX price — Le Gall said the European launch service should be able to trade on its record for reliability and customer service to remain competitive.

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US Air Force Space Surveillance Satellite Bumps NASA’s long awaited Orion Launch to Dec. 2014
by KEN KREMER on MARCH 19, 2014

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL – The urgent need by the US Air Force to launch a pair of previously classified Space Situational Awareness satellites into Earth orbit this year on an accelerated schedule has bumped the inaugural blastoff of NASA’s highly anticipated Orion pathfinder manned capsule from September to December 2014.

It’s a simple case of US national security taking a higher priority over the launch of NASA’s long awaited unmanned Orion test flight on the Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) mission.

The EFT-1 flight is NASA’s first concrete step towards sending human crews on Beyond Earth Orbit (BEO) missions since the finale of the Apollo moon landing era in December 1972.

Final assembly of Orion is underway at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC).

The very existence of the covert Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program, or GSSAP, was only recently declassified during a speech by General William Shelton, commander of the US Air Force Space Command.

Shelton made the announcement regarding the top secret GSSAP program during a Feb. 21 speech about the importance of space and cyberspace at the Air Force Association Air Warfare Symposium and Technology exposition, in Orlando, FL.

US national security requirements forced NASA’s Orion EFT-1 mission to swap launch slots with the GSSAP satellites – which were originally slated to launch later in 2014.

Since both spacecraft will blast off from the same pad at Complex 37 and atop Delta rockets manufactured by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a decision on priorities had to be made – and the military won out.

At a Cape Canaveral media briefing with Delta first stage boosters on Monday, March 17, Universe Today confirmed the order and payloads on the upcoming Delta IV rockets this year.

“The firing sequence for the Delta’s is the USAF Global Positioning System GPS 2F-6 [in May], GSSAP [in September] and Orion EFT-1 [in December], Tony Taliancich, ULA Director of East Coast Launch Operations, told me.

Universe Today also confirmed with the top management at KSC that NASA will absolutely not delay any Orion processing and assembly activities.

Despite the EFT-1 postponement, technicians for prime contractor Lockheed Martin are pressing forward and continue to work around the clock at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) so that NASA’s Orion spacecraft can still meet the original launch window that opens in mid- September 2014 – in case of future adjustments to the launch schedule sequence.
“Our plan is to have the Orion spacecraft ready because we want to get EFT-1 out so we can start getting the hardware in for Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) and start processing for that vehicle that will launch on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in 2017,” Bob Cabana, director of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and former shuttle commander, told me.

Shelton stated that two of the GSSAP military surveillance satellites would be launched on the same launch vehicle later this year.

“GSSAP will present a significant improvement in space object surveillance, not only for better collision avoidance, but also for detecting threats,” Shelton said.

“GSSAP will bolster our ability to discern when adversaries attempt to avoid detection and to discover capabilities they may have, which might be harmful to our critical assets at these higher altitudes.”

According to a new GSSAP online fact sheet, the program will be a space-based capability operating in near-geosynchronous orbit, supporting U.S. Strategic Command space surveillance operations as a dedicated Space Surveillance Network sensor.



“Some of our most precious satellites fly in that orbit – one cheap shot against the AEHF [Advanced Extremely High Frequency] constellation would be devastating,” added Shelton. “Similarly, with our Space Based Infrared System, SBIRS, one cheap shot creates a hole in our environment. GSSAP will bolster our ability to discern when adversaries attempt to avoid detection and to discover capabilities they may have which might be harmful to our critical assets at these higher altitudes.”

GSSAP will allow more accurate tracking and characterization of man-made orbiting objects, uniquely contribute to timely and accurate orbital predictions, enhance knowledge of the geosynchronous orbit environment, and further enable space flight safety to include satellite collision avoidance.

The GSSAP satellites were covertly developed by Orbital Sciences and the Air Force.

Two additional follow on GSSAP satellites are slated for launch in 2016.

“We must be prepared as a nation to succeed in increasingly complex and contested space and cyber environments, especially in these domains where traditional deterrence theory probably doesn’t apply,” Shelton explained. “We can’t afford to wait … for that catalyzing event that will prod us to action.”

Orion is NASA’s first spaceship designed to carry human crews on long duration flights to deep space destinations beyond low Earth orbit, such as asteroids, the Moon, Mars and beyond.

The inaugural flight of Orion on the unmanned Exploration Flight Test – 1 (EFT-1) mission had been on schedule to blast off from the Florida Space Coast in mid September 2014 atop a Delta 4 Heavy booster, Scott Wilson, NASA’s Orion Manager of Production Operations at KSC, told Universe Today during a recent interview at KSC.

The two-orbit, four- hour EFT-1 flight will lift the Orion spacecraft and its attached second stage to an orbital altitude of 3,600 miles, about 15 times higher than the International Space Station (ISS) – and farther than any human spacecraft has journeyed in 40 years.

Stay tuned here for Ken’s continuing Orion, Chang’e-3, Orbital Sciences, SpaceX, commercial space, LADEE, Mars rover, MAVEN, MOM and more planetary and human spaceflight news.

Learn more at Ken’s upcoming presentations at the NEAF astro/space convention, NY on April 12/13 and at Washington Crossing State Park, NJ on April 6.

Ken Kremer



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